to sleek down
1
5.8
- phrasal verb
- /sliːk daʊn/
- He applied hair gel to sleek down the frizz and achieve a polished look.
Examples
-
She used a brush to sleek down her hair before the party.
-
After washing his dog, he sleeked down its fur to make it shiny.
-
It just sleeks it down, but it's also great for edges.
Synonyms
65
1.1
To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing it
53
1.1
To make a surface even by rubbing or pressing
6
5.0
To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing or adding oil
3
4.0
To make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing or polishing
1
5.8
To make a surface such as hair smooth and shiny by using a product or pushing it flat
1
4.3
To make a surface flat and even by rubbing or polishing
1
9.2
To make something shiny by rubbing
1
4.3
To make something smooth and shiny by brushing or pressing
Antonyms
How Smooth
Surface Forms
Morphology
sleek + down
The meaning 'to make hair or a surface smooth and glossy' is directly derivable from 'sleek' (to make glossy) combined with 'down' (indicating smoothing/flattening or direction toward a lower/closer position). This verb + particle composition follows common English patterns and would be understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Sleek down comes from the simple act of making hair or fur smooth (sleek) and pressed close (down), like running a comb with water or gel to make stray hairs lie flat. So, it means 'to make a surface smooth and shiny', especially hair or fur.